THE SECRET SPIES IN THE SKY - Imagery, Data Analysis, and Discussions relating to Military Space

SatTrackCam Leiden (Cospar 4353) is a satellite tracking station located at Leiden, the Netherlands. The tracking focus is on classified objects - i.e. "spy satellites". With a camera, accurate positional measurements on satellites of interest are obtained in order to determine their orbits. Orbital behaviour is analysed.

Thursday, 16 March 2017

USA 186 recovered

click to enlarge

The image above shows USA 186 (2005-042A), a KH-11 ADVANCED CRYSTAL ("Keyhole") optical reconnaissance satellite. It is cruising just below the Pleiades star cluster in this image, which I shot yesterday evening using the Samyang 1.4/85 mm lens and an exposure of 2 seconds.

USA 186 was recovered last week after being briefly lost in the Northern hemisphere winter blackout. Leo Barhorst made one or two possible detection in February, but it was Cees Bassa who unambiguously recovered it on March 13th. Two days later, I made the image above.

The arc is still short, but it appears to be in an approximately 265 x 435 km sun-synchronous orbit. The apogee is some 20 km lower than it previously was, the perigee is about 5 km higher (i.e., the current orbit is more circular than previous orbits). It's ground repeat interval is 4 days.

USA 186 is the secondary West plane satellite in the KH-11 constellation. The hunt is now on for USA 245, the primary West plane KH-11. Recovery of the primary East plane KH-11, USA 224, will have to wait untill early summer.

When I observed it yesterday it was bright (mag +1.5) and briefly flared to mag 0 near 19:32:50 UT (March 15, 2017).

About the Author

Dutch, 47, PhD, stone age archaeologist, meteoriticist, satellite tracker, meteor observer, asteroid discoverer. Consultant in a Space Situational Awareness project with the Space Security Center of the Royal Dutch Air Force and Leiden Observatory. As an invited expert I advised members of Dutch Parliament about military satellite systems and their locations during a 2016 foreign affairs committee hearing about the MH17 disaster.
Asteroid (183294) Langbroek was named after me. In 2012, I received the Dr. J. van der Bilt Prize of the Royal Dutch Astronomy Association (KNVWS) for my work on meteors, asteroids and satellites.
Opinions expressed on this blog are entirely my own.
You can find me on Twitter via @Marco_Langbroek

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Excerpt from United Nations resolution 2222 (XXI)

Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies

In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.